SNCF strike: one strike hides another, disruptions to be expected on these dates

While they are already organizing a day of strike action on November 21, the SNCF unions are announcing an unlimited strike starting December 11.

The four unions representing the SNCF, namely CGT Cheminots, Unsa Ferroviaire, SUD Rail, CFDT Cheminots, filed a strike notice for two dates on Saturday, November 9. One from Wednesday, November 20, 7 p.m., to Friday, November 22, 8 a.m. – a period already announced and known. The other, renewable, from December 11, 7 p.m., informs Le Parisien. Barely two weeks before the start of the end-of-year holidays.

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In a joint press release, the unions warned at the beginning of the week that the strike day at the end of November was a sort of ultimatum. “We said that November 21 was a warning before a tougher and longer movement. We are moving from words to actions,” Julien Troccaz, federal secretary of SUD Rail, told Parisien. The unions are reacting to the lack of “change of direction” from the group's management, RMC reports. This second strike period is unlimited, renewable for 24-hour periods. It is currently difficult to know how long it will last, and whether it will disrupt Christmas celebrations.

Unions oppose the “creeping privatization” of the railway company. In detail, they denounce the “privatization in the TER, Transilien and Intercités activities”, with the opening of subsidiaries to respond to calls for tender, as well as the “breakup of SNCF R&eacuteseau”. And above all, the unions want to prevent the dismantling of Fret SNCF, split into two new companies in 2025 with 10% fewer staff. A set of measures that would lead to “massive job cuts” and “the deterioration of working conditions”, they believe.